scholarly journals Public Speaking in EFL Postgraduate Courses in Italy: A Case Study with Students of Political Science, University of Genoa

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Francesco Pierini
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Political Science ◽  
English Language ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
University Curricula ◽  
Foreign Universities

The teaching of soft skills in EFL postgraduate courses is increasingly part of the Italian university curricula, albeit with some delay compared to foreign universities. Postgraduate English language courses need to focus on the use of language in foreseeable situations by creating opportunities to use the language in public contexts. Meetings, presentations, debates are the activities that young people will increasingly be called upon to engage in. Rather than solely on theoretical knowledge learned previously, these activities develop the practical use of language, in front of an audience, with a structured discourse and with some emphasis on the non-verbal elements of communication. Although these aspects may appear daunting to students, more often than not, they have been able to overcome their anxiety, not only in relation to the embarrassment of speaking a foreign language in public, but even to the mere act of speaking in public, which represents an obstacle in itself. In this study a case of Italian postgraduate students of Political Science was carried out and analysed.

scholarly journals TEACHING ALPAHBET FOR NON NATIVE ENGLISH LEARNERS: A CASE STUDY OF FIRST GRADERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-32
Author(s):  
Agnes Widyaningrum ◽  
Vinna Octavia
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Graders ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Symbolic Thought ◽  
Time To Learn

Non-native English learners need time to learn English language since they just heard without knowing how to pronounce it correctly. This condition occurs in common Primary Schools because the students do not have foreign language background, at school as well as at home. The hidden curriculum focusing on students’ soft skills are not well administered as the school managements think that what they have to do in running the academic atmosphere is teaching well for their students. The first step in teaching English for young learners especially those who are non-native English learners is introducing English by getting to know it. Piaget’s child’s development contributes in helping teachers to know their student’s growth physically and mentally in order to help them learn better while they play different teacher’s roles. Piaget proves that cognitivism gives insight that is children’s develop through stages since they were born. First graders at their age is on the stage called preoperational with one of characteristics that is language development with the goal to create symbolic thought. One way to achieve this goal is by teaching alphabet for first graders.

scholarly journals Tailoring Potent Courses for ESP Learners: A Way to Better Fulfil their Demands

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 414-423
Author(s):  
Fatma ZAGHAR ◽  
El-Alia Wafaâ ZAGHAR
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Remedial Actions ◽  
Global Language ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

In this day and age, it is absolutely indispensable for acquiring competence in English to grapple with the real impediments and huge challenges of the modern epoch. The emergence of English as a global language is among the factors that could explicate its vitality and its expansion. The basic burden of making language courses more relevant to learners’ needs resulted in the advent of languages for specific purposes movement, known in English Language Teaching circles as English for Specific Purposes. ESP then, has since its inception in the early 1960s become one of the most dynamic branches of applied linguistics in general, and of Teaching English as a Foreign Language in particular. To amass relevant data, a case study was conducted through a combination of a questionnaire, classroom observation, and informal interviews with language teachers and subject specialists. The main aim of this present paper is to precisely delineate the teaching/learning process of ESP in the department of Computer Sciences at the University of ORAN1 in Algeria, and the learners’ attitudes towards this teaching. For this purpose, it is necessary to explore the utility of ESP as perceived by learners, and to address problems faced by instructors. The results indicate that the students have a positive attitude towards ESP and that their poor achievement was due to multiple reasons. This digest concludes by offering some suggestions and implications as remedial actions to the major confronted concerns.

scholarly journals Tailoring Potent Courses for ESP Learners: A Way to Better Fulfil their Demands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatma ZAGHAR ◽  
El-Alia Wafaâ ZAGHAR
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Remedial Actions ◽  
Global Language ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

In this day and age, it is absolutely indispensable for acquiring competence in English to grapple with the real impediments and huge challenges of the modern epoch. The emergence of English as a global language is among the factors that could explicate its vitality and its expansion. The basic burden of making language courses more relevant to learners’ needs resulted in the advent of languages for specific purposes movement, known in English Language Teaching circles as English for Specific Purposes. ESP then, has since its inception in the early 1960s become one of the most dynamic branches of applied linguistics in general, and of Teaching English as a Foreign Language in particular. To amass relevant data, a case study was conducted through a combination of a questionnaire, classroom observation, and informal interviews with language teachers and subject specialists. The main aim of this present paper is to precisely delineate the teaching/learning process of ESP in the department of Computer Sciences at the University of ORAN1 in Algeria, and the learners’ attitudes towards this teaching. For this purpose, it is necessary to explore the utility of ESP as perceived by learners, and to address problems faced by instructors. The results indicate that the students have a positive attitude towards ESP and that their poor achievement was due to multiple reasons. This digest concludes by offering some suggestions and implications as remedial actions to the major confronted concerns.

Correlation between Listening Anxiety and Listening Strategies of Chinese Postgraduate Students of Science and Engineering: A Case Study at SUES

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengli Wang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Listening Anxiety ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Listening Proficiency ◽  
Listening Strategies

<p>English listening is one of the five basic skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation that a Chinese postgraduate should acquire, and it is also the most significant one. In this study, 194 first-year postgraduate students at Shanghai University of Engineering Science were invited to report their strategies use and listening anxiety in the questionnaire with the 5-Likert Indirect Foreign Language Listening Strategies Scale and the 5-Likert Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale. The SPSS13.0 was used to analyze the descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, Chi-square test and One-way ANOVA, which indicated a medium listening anxiety and a medium level of strategies use. Metacognitive strategies were more frequently used than social and affective strategies, the correlation between listening proficiency and listening anxiety was significantly negative, correlation between listening proficiency and indirect listening strategies was significantly positive, and that between indirect listening strategies and listening anxiety was significantly negative. Indirect listening strategies were useful to allay listening anxiety and would be incorporated into our normal classroom teaching.</p>

scholarly journals Exploring the Writing Challenges Faced by M.Phil. and Ph.D. Scholars: A Case

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (IV) ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
Hina Iqbal ◽  
Muhammad Saeed
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Interactive Programming ◽  
Report Quality ◽  
Grammatical Errors ◽  
Language Courses

Academic writing plays a pivotal role in developing research proposals. The present study aimed to explore the grammatical errors that M.Phil/PhDs scholars commit in academic writing. The present study employed a qualitative case study designed to explore the challenges in the English language faced by the M.Phil and PhDs scholars. The 20 Ph.D. and 36 M.Phil scholars were selected by busing purposive sampling technique. Data were collected by using two self-developed semi-structured interviews protocol. Thematic analysis approach was employed for data analysis. The findings revealed that all the participants reported that correct use of tenses was a big hurdle that entailed the other grammatical mistakes and reduced the report quality because all the lexical aspects are linked with these mechanics. The study recommended that English language courses be offered to postgraduate, M. Phil and Ph.D. scholars to learn the technical aspects of the language and provide students with online interactive programming.

scholarly journals Pronunciation Of The English Voiceless Postalveolar Affricate /tʃ/ In Yemeni EFL Learners’ Production

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Najah Ahmad Khamis ◽  
Rohaiza Jupri
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Final Word ◽  
Sound System ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Case Study Design ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Quantitative Case Study

<p>Achieving a near-native speaker’s pronunciation is so essential for EFL learners. However, many factors contribute to the challenges faced by EFL learners, mainly due to the difference in the sound system of English Language and that of their first language. For this reason, Arab learners of English Language may mispronounce some English sounds. This paper analyzed one of the few problematic sounds to the Arab Yemeni EFL learners - the pronunciation of the English voiceless postalveolar affricate /ʧ/. The study which has a quantitative case study design uses four Yemeni EFL postgraduate students as its participants. The participants’ pronunciations of /tʃ/ sound in the initial, middle and final word-positions were analyzed using Praat phonetic software. The findings of the study showed that Yemeni EFL learners have difficulties in producing the /tʃ/ sound, especially in the initial and final positions, and deaffrication of /tʃ/  occurred in the  pronunciation of the four participants. The current study is expected to be of value, particularly for EFL learners, teachers, as well as material writers.</p><p> </p>

Laying the Ground for Online English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) Composition Courses and University Internationalization

2018 ◽  
pp. 1212-1231
Author(s):  
Estela Ene
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Needs Assessment ◽  
English Language ◽  
Composition Courses ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Composition Course ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Efl Composition ◽  
The U.S

As universities internationalize and U.S. and Chinese universities become partners, there is growing demand for online English language courses for students seeking to improve their English prior to arriving to the U.S. Situated in the context of a partnership between a U.S. Midwest university and its Chinese partner, this chapter provides a methodological model for assessing (1) English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) composition and online learning needs and resources prior to developing courses for a new population; (2) the potential for collaboration between partnering institutions; and (3) the effectiveness of an online English composition course. The chapter illustrates, in a step-by-step fashion, the decision-making process which shaped the needs assessment and the actions based on it. By doing so, it provides a realistic portrayal of the complexity of the Needs Assessment (NA) and curriculum development process.

scholarly journals Exploring the Causes of English Language Speaking Anxiety among Postgraduate Students of University of Balochistan, Pakistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazeer Ahmed ◽  
Zahid Hussain Pathan ◽  
Faria Saeed Khan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Speaking Anxiety ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Statistical Significant Difference ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The World

English language enjoys its glory as an official language of Pakistan and it is used widely as a medium of instructions across educational institutes. Since anxiety retards the learning process, therefore it has been widely researched in the world and seems under researched in Pakistani context. Thus, the prime aim of this research is to explore the factors that cause English language speaking anxiety among Postgraduate Students of University of Balochistan (UoB), Pakistan. This study also aimed at determining the statistical significant difference if any across gender. The quantitative research design was employed in which a questionnaire comprising of eighteen items was adapted from the study by Horwitz et al. (1986). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed in the SPSS (version, 21). The findings revealed that UOB students were experiencing anxiety due to myriad factors in EFL classroom. The findings of the t-test revealed no statistical significant difference across gender. This paper has implications on both teaching and learning of English as a foreign language in Pakistani context.

scholarly journals The use of Self-regulated Language Learning Strategies Among Vietnamese English-majored Freshmen: A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Quoc Thao ◽  
Nguyen Chau Hoang Long
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
English Language ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Efl Learners

Self-regulation of learning plays a vital role in improving second/foreign language learning as it can encourage the development of autonomous learners. It is seen that, nevertheless, ESL/EFL learners in different contexts are not fully aware of the importance of self-regulated language learning (SRLL) strategies in their English language learning. The present study, therefore, aims at investigating the use of SRLL strategies by English-majored students at a university in Bac Lieu province, Vietnam. This study involved 100 English-majored freshmen in answering a closed-ended questionnaire. The results showed that students sometimes used SRLL strategies, and they used SRLL strategies for keeping and monitoring records and seeking social assistance more often than for other purposes. The findings imply that students lacked knowledge of how to use SRLL strategies and get engaged in using SRLL strategies. This study recommends that students’ awareness of SRLL strategies should be seriously taken into account in order to facilitate their learner autonomy.

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